F1 - Jean-Eric Vergne reprimanded after missing weighbridge

Lucky to avoid a grid penalty after qualifying

21 April 2012 - 18h24

French rookie Jean-Eric Vergne has been lucky to get away with only a reprimand from the FIA after missing the weighbridge after his qualifying effort in Q1. The Toro Rosso driver suffered an overall disastrous qualifying session for the Bahrain Grand Prix tomorrow, and only managed 19th overall.

After completing his run in Q1, the Frenchman was signaled to enter the weighbridge so the FIA could weigh his car before returning it to the pits. However, Vergne missed the gesticulating FIA official and red light and drove straight on towards his garage.

Luckily for Jean-Eric Vergne, the FIA decided to only reprimand the Toro Rosso driver, with the FIA stating that "upon realizing the error, the team, under supervision of a scrutineer, brought the car back to the FIA garage." With a grid penalty the possible alternate decision for the FIA, Vergne is lucky to be able to retain his 19th grid position for tomorrow’s race.

In stark contrast to Vergne’s disastrous qualifying position, his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was able to qualify a superlative 6th position on the grid. The Australian was able to out-qualify both Lotus’ and both Ferrari’s, in a qualifying session which showcased what a tight and highly competitive midfield there is in 2012.